Dabell's Porter House
Dabell Is,
Dabell's!
Grey-green slip glazed porter bottles and spirit flasks
are not uncommon, and many were used by Inns in
the early Victorian period. The very best known
examples had the name of the licence holder and
premises impressed into an attractive slab
seal attached to the body of the stoneware bottle. Very
occasionally, such seals incorporated some related
pictorial emblem. Such items are very rare indeed but
there is one particuarly famous Inn which has not one
pictorial slab seal, it has at least 8 different known
slab seals, with a very good chance that more exist.
This is the story behind those amazing bottles, this is
the story of Dabells!
The story starts way back in 1817. In that year one
William Dabell obtained a licence for premises in
Swanns Yard, 12 Long Row, Nottingham. The
premises had previously been used as a Quaker
meeting House. The premises were first known as
the Bell Inn or Bell Tavern. By 1840, the Bell Tavern,
as it was then known, was still in the hands of Wiliam
Dabell. When William Dabell died, the Inn stayed in
the family and was run by his wife and daughter. In
1848, Jane Dabell is recorded as the licence holder
and it is interesting to note a change of name to the
Railway Bell.
The inspiration for the name is not hard to find, as the
1840's were times of great expansion by the numerous
railway companies.The railways first came to
Nottingham in 1839, when the Midland Counties
Railway ran the first train to Derby on 30th
May The new terminal station at Carrington Street
was not a great distance from Long Row. Between
1848 and 1860, the licence changed again, for by
1860, Ann Dabell is named as the licence holder. Ann
was a widow, formerly the wife of William. The
next member of the family to take over the premises
was Ben Dabell. Ben has been attributed with creating
a drink for which the Railway Bell became famous.
The drink was known as fettled porter, and the Inn
gradually became known as "Dabell's Fettled
Porter House." Fettled Porter was a kind of mulled
stout, spiced with special ingredients that remained a
family secret for over 100 years. People came from all
over the world to sample this hot frothing drink,
sometimes served with a slice of lemon.
The Railway Bell was always a popular meeting
place, particuarly so at the the times of the annual
Nottingham Goose Fair. This was at one time held in
the central Market Square, only a short distance from
Long Row. Dabells was a popular rendezvous for
the many showmen who returned to Nottingham
every year in early October. In Victorian times, public
houses opened their doors as early as 8:00 am, and at
the time of the Goose Fair, there was usually a queue
of eager customers, even at this early time of day. The
Railway Bell seems to have had a long association
with a variety of stouts. William started the ball rolling
when he became an agent for Dublin Double
Stout. In 1926, The Nottinghamshire Weekly
Guardian published the following tribute to Dabells
London Stout;
This highly esteemed liquor,so strongly reconunended
by the faculty, may be had at the Railway Bell,
opposite the Police Office, Long Row, Nottingham, in
first rate condition all year round. Invalids and others
will fmd it an excellent substitute for port wine.
Even in the 1930's, the Inn was popularly known as
Dabells Fettled Porter House, and was now in the
hands of Susan and John Dabell. Susan Dabell was
the last of a long line of Dabells to hold the Iicence in
Long Row. The Inn finally Closed in 1956, and was
demolished.
In the same year, Jessops, a well-known Nottingham
department store, acquired land in Swanns yard to
allow an extension of their property. In clearing the
ground, six caves were found in the Bunter sandstone,
on which the former properties were built.
During excavations, large quantities of stone beer
bottles were recovered, some of which bore names.
These included examples for W.Dabell, A.Dabell and
B.Dabell. Over 50 DIFFERENT labels or slab seals
were found. Besides stone bottles from Nottingham,
there were also examples from Horncastle, Ilkestone
Potteries, Denby and Codnor Park Potteries,
Derbyshire, Retford, Belper, Selby, Wainfleet,
Doncaster and Grantham.
Twenty and thirty years after these discoveries,
modern-day bottle collectors can only gasp and think
what might have been found in the Railway Bell's
Cellars. Unfortunately, Nottingham has never had a
large and productive town-centre dump available for
digging, and full examples of bottles from the
Railway Bell are very few and far between. David
Hampton has a very impressive collection of 10
Dabell slab seals, though technically, three bear an
almost identical seal. He has three different
seals for W. Dabell, which we can date to between
1817 and 1848. One intriquing example bears the
name "The Monster Bell" and not the Railway Bell.
This is usually acknowledged as the rarest of all of the
Dabell slab seals. Was the Tavern once called
the Monster Bell? It has to be a possibility. David
also has two different slab seals for A.Dabell.
Howevever, there is at least one other bottle known
for Ann Dabell, a champagne shape variety which
was dug on the Cattle Market site a few years back.
Ther are at last 2 different slab seals for B.Dabell,
including an unusual small ginger beer shaped stone
bottle. As for Jane Dabell, there are no known slab
seal bottles but who would rule out the possibilty of
their existence?
The Railway Bell in Swanns Yard may have been
demolished long ago but it has left its mark on
history. Picture the scene 100 years ago on that busy
first weekend in October. The tavern is full to
bursting from eight until late. The air is heavy with
the spicy scent of fettled porter. The bar-racks are
lined wth row upon row of stoneware bottles full of
Dabells famous stout. Down in the caves below the
Inn lie many hundreds more Hawkers set up their
trays to sell their cow heels and fried fish. Showmen
rub their oily hands in anticipation of bumper takings
at the annual Goose Fair. As they settle down at their
tables and drink the contents of the stoneware bottles,
they would scarcely believe that one day the very
same bottles would change hands for more than
£200 apiece. Ah, fettled stout and old stone bottles -
what a glorious glimpse into the past of a marvellous
old Inn.
This article has been prepared with the aid and
assistance of the Nottingham County Library, to
whom we extend our thanks.Most of the bottles are
from the David Hampton collection.
References;
Gazette of the John Lewis Partnership 26.12.59